Running Up That Hill
by Nyightshade
Summary: She awoke here, an unwilling prisoner to time. She always told him he deserved so much more than what life handed him, that she would have swapped places if only to give him a hope at the happiness he deserved. Now was her chance, now was her time and she wasn't about to waste it.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Running Up That Hill

Prologue

Pain. It wrapped itself around her in an unwanted caress. It held onto every limb, every pore, and every muscle as if she had been stretched and twisted, compressed and confined, and generally pushed to the brink of exhaustion. It was the deep ebbing pain that even gripped her mind, not the sharp acute pain of a particular injury. Rather something old and new at the same time, an all-encompassing ache that almost eluded description entirely.

Trees. Clouds. The blurred forms slowly came to recognition as her eyes adjusted to the sudden light. She groggily waved a deceptively delicate hand about in front of her vision testing each figure individually. Everything looked hazy to her weary eyes, as if she had just woken from an unneeded midday nap, synapses firing sluggishly. A darkness clinging to the edges of her vision refused to give up its hold.

Wild life. Shouting. Metal clanging. Sounds of nearby battle caused her to snap to attention, the shinobi and medic within her battling for control. The midday laze dispersing instantly, she was up and pulled taut like a band ready to snap, pushing the lingering pain and darkness to the back of her mind.

Wind. Branches. She was running before she registered it, bare feet pushing off the cluttered ground with purpose. Carelessly leaving bloodied tracks as the sticks and rocks tore into the normally protected flesh, more important matters were at hand.

Chakra. It electrified the air and stung her nose and lungs, the battle ground was seeped in it, the smell clawed at her subconscious. She could remember that the aroma always accompanied a certain jutsu however she couldn't quite put a name to it. As she neared the fight the elemental force adhered to her skin, raising gooseflesh and hairs on the back of her neck.

She didn't think, just reacted. As soon as she entered the cave she unconsciously registered the markings on the headbands, there was no time to asses any situations or let her sometimes overly logical mind take matters into hand. Before the enemy registered her entrance she was dashing across the cramped space flooding her limbs with chakra and pushing a boy to the side. Grunting with exertion and mild pain she punched upwards allowing her enhanced strength shatter the large stone falling towards her into harmless pieces. She raised herself, unfolding from the semi crouched position she had been forced to take and looked at the three stunned shinobi before her assessing any damage.

She blinked. Once. Twice. Another time just to be sure, and shook her head violently. Pink locks swayed with the movement as she transitioned from battle ready kunoichi to a state of strained confusion. The darkness that had been threatening to swallow her vision encroached ever more yet she could clearly see the unmistakable silver mop of hair and masked face. Nothing made sense and she hopped it had merely been the odd exhaustion that was causing her to see this vision.

He was dead, she and what remained of her team had buried him only weeks ago. She was sure of it, felt it within every fiber of her being. Yet here he was, looking years younger than herself and staring right back at her with dropped eyes that sung of as much confusion as hers. She slumped forward as the slinking blackness closed in more, barely registering a flash of yellow light and uttered one exhausted word.

"Sensei?"


	2. If I Only Could Make A Deal With God

Chapter 1: If I Only Could Make A Deal with God

The earth was blackened and obliterated. A maelstrom of ache and fury ragged on and in the center loomed two figures. One stood tall and imposing, inky dark hair flowing free of bonds in the wind with a look of pure hatred upon his pale face. His very aura rang of malevolence and loathing towards the perceived worms before him. He looked fatigued and bloodied but not overly injured, his large gunbai lay discarded among the jagged rubble, snapped in two from a particularly powerful blow. Facing him was a man in a long crimson coat. Where the former could be described as dark this young shinobi would be light. His sunny yellow hair jutted up every which way with reckless abandon, a whiskered face sat set in steely determination, red rimmed eyes narrowed in defiance. He too looked drained and battered, fighting with all his might to simply stand before his enemy in boldness.

Sakura Haruno looked upon the destruction that lay in front of her. The ground had been upturned in multiple locations from her chakra laden kicks and punches combined with the efforts of the other jutsus that her teammates had cast. Bodies were scattered about, both friend and foe. Her fingers almost itched to help the remaining dying, the healer within her very core almost weeping in sorrow at the situation. She wished to aid, to patch up her many allies, but he had needed her. She simply had no more chakra to give. So drained was she that she couldn't even extract herself from the hold some faceless minion seized her in.

She felt herself slump in defeat as she listlessly watched the pair converse and combat. Naruto was tiring, that much was obvious by the fact that the yellowed eyes of sage mode were back to being the bright clear blue she knew so well. His dodges were becoming less evasive and more stumbling luck yet he still fought proudly, her weary lips curled into a grin as he yelled some inane and peaceful desire towards his opponent. She steeled herself for the coming blow from her captor, happy that her last thought and sight could be of the golden shinobi that she cared for so much.

The blow never came, the kunai she had heard sliding out of the nameless nin's pouch never sliced through her throat, instead she felt a sudden loosening of grip and splash of blood as the sharp instrument found a home within his own neck. She twisted out of the dead man's grip to look behind her as a shadow snaked along the ground towards its bleeding owner, dropping on all fours to do so.

"Shikamaru?" the question was breathy as she took in his ragged appearance, jounin vest torn and hanging off a limp arm. The man in question collapsed to the ground, one hand unclasping the lifeless fingers of the other in deactivation of his trademark technique. His short breaths stirring his unbound black hair as he gave her a slight nod. A large bloodstain spread over the sagging shoulder with alarming speed as she crawled as fast as she could to his now prone body. "Hold on Shika" she grunted coming up next to him, lifting a muddy hand towards him. Soft green light emanated from the offered appendage before sputtering out. She tried twice more, the glow flickering less and less with each attempt. "I'm so sorry," she cried "damn it," she growled punching the ground fruitlessly.

"Sakura," he spoke weakly using his good hand to gently cover her dirty one "it's alright." And then he smiled with such resigned serenity she almost believed it herself. She knew that deep down he really was content with not surviving, the blow he had taken was too close to his heart and she was simply to useless to repair it. He had lost more than most in the war, his family, his team, and just days ago the woman he was in love with. Survivors' guild weighed heavily on the normally lazy tactician, and she found herself wishing fervently that whatever awaited him beyond was no more troublesome than a shoji match with his loved ones.

She gave him what she hoped wasn't a pitying smile in return and dug into the breast pocket of his flak jacket slowly. Pulling out a rumpled rectangular packet and lighter she flipped the lid off and fished out a single cigarette that looked a little worse for wear. She lit the small vice and placed it in his good hand with a teary smile. No more words were to be said as he slowly lifted it to his mouth and closed his drowsy eyes.

Sakura turned away and struggled to her feet, stumbling as she did so. Her eyes narrowed in grim determination as she sluggishly strode forward towards the two power house opponents. Digging in her medic pouch she produced a small scroll, swiping a hand across a large laceration to her thigh in doing so. She placed the now bloodied hand upon the roll activating a seal in doing so. A small flash followed as she now gripped a familiar tonto, the other hand reaching for a half broken energy ration, her soldier pills having run out long ago. She choked the pill down grimacing at the taste while doing so, adrenaline started coursing throughout her limbs without the added benefits of chakra.

Limping towards the epicenter of the combat she held the arm with the weapon out ready, watching the jitters from the ration recede as the adrenaline started to even out. She felt energized but not entirely renewed, the haze of pain only being blocked by the chemicals. As the malaise retreated her limp became less prominent, her slow gait slowly becoming more of a frenzied dash. She may not be able to reinforce her punches with the vibrant green energy she normally relied on but she was resolute to be of some use to her friend, the boy she had waited too long to fall for, the one who she now loved from afar.

She ran up the hill and leapt towards Madara's turned back futilely with only half her normal speed and a fraction of the strength, intent to do nothing more than distract the monster of a man. Her breath caught as both she and the tonto held before her seamlessly phased through the should-be-solid body before her. She staggered and attempted to regain her balance as Naruto shouted her name in concern. He dashed forwards in an attempt to punch the Uchiha what he was preoccupied with swatting her away like a pest. The blow was solid and to her chest, sending her already unbalanced form tumbling down the knoll.

She groaned as she came to a stop, slowly pushing herself up with her feeble arms and wiping away a trickle of blood that leaked from her lips. Naruto was bellowing in rage, spewing comments towards his dark opponent that were too fast to follow, as he quickly executed frenzied taijutsu, all of which were blocked by his much calmer opponent. He jumped back from his failed onslaught and began swirling bright blue chakra to his hand.

Time slowed.

The seconds turned to hours as she watched him charge forwards, clones sent before him. As Madara single handedly dispatched the two copies he began creating seals with the other hand. Narutos arm was outstretched, his face set in a confident sneer as he firmly believed this to be the final blow, and it was with that look that she realized the truth.

The angry red chakra that was slowly bubbling up was making him inattentive, he hadn't seen the hand signs Madara was making and wouldn't be able to dodge whatever impending attack the man was orchestrating.

Time stopped.

Naruto was weakened and while his assault seemed to be a last ditch effort she knew him well enough to know he still had more fight to give in him. She however was bloodied and broken, chakra-less and relying on already failing borrowed power, nothing but inadequate and in the way at this point.

A bloodied hand slid up her torn shirt, reaching for a patch of flesh irritated and raised from a recent tattoo. Before she had a chance to doubt herself she prayed to Kami that her design worked and transferred her last remaining iota of Chakra into a seal that was inked onto her side.

Time flied.

She felt her entire being shift and compress, like she was being pulled through a narrow tube. It was instantaneous and yet felt like forever all in the same moment and she vaguely wondered if she left behind a pink flash.

Suddenly she was staring into impossibly blue eyes widened in utter disbelief and dread, his extended arm with the jutsu only moments from impacting her now standing form, the momentum too much to stop the trajectory. Madara's unknown jutsu collided forcibly with her back as she was still feeling the effects of her technique, the strength causing her to cough, more lifeblood flowing from her lips.

Narutos hand and rasengan slammed into her with the power of a mighty gale. She looked towards her chest where she expected gore and pain and given the devastated look upon his face he clearly anticipated the same. A strangled gasp echoed behind her followed by gurgles as the imposing shadow collapsed to the ground. She registered no pain, no viscera or any damage upon her body from the jutsu, yet Naruto stood with his arm plainly impaling her. She reached up to grab the arm for support, her knees giving out from exhaustion, only to have her hand pass right through the appendage. Before either could utter a word a sudden light emanated from her abdomen, right where the seal was located.

She closed her eyes at the sudden flash and knew no more.


End file.
